ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE CONJUGATED WITH SODIUM HYALURONATE

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) from bovine erythrocytes was conjugated wit h sodium hyaluronate (HA) with a mean molecular weight of 10(6) to hav e greater anti-inflammatory activity in vivo. Amino groups of SOD were coupled with carboxyl groups in the hyaluronate molecule using 1-ethy l-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodimide The HA-SOD conjugate was compos ed of 1.5 mol of SOD molecule per 1 mol of hyaluronate on the average, and retained 70% of the activity of unmodified SOD. The conjugate was essentially non-immunogenic in mice, and exhibited much higher anti-i nflammatory activities than HA or SOD in models of inflammatory diseas es such as ischemic oedema of the foot-pad in mice, carrageenin-induce d pleurisy and adjuvant arthritis in rats.